Chiba Lotte Marines

Chiba Lotte Marines
Team logo Cap insignia
League

Nippon Professional Baseball (1950–present)

Ballpark Chiba Marine Stadium (1992–present)
Year established 1950
Nickname(s) Kamome (鴎?, gulls)
Pacific League pennants 5 (1950, 1960, 1970, 1974, 2005)
Japan Series championships 4 (1950, 1974, 2005, 2010)
Former name(s)
  • Mainichi Orions (1950–1957)
  • Daimai Orions (1958–1963)
  • Tokyo Orions (1964–1968)
  • Lotte Orions (1969–1991)
  • Chiba Lotte Marines (1992–present)
Former ballparks
Colors Black, White
         
Ownership Lotte Co.
Manager Tsutomu Ito

The Chiba Lotte Marines (千葉ロッテマリーンズ Chiba Rotte Marīnzu) are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by the Lotte conglomerate.

History

The Marines franchise began in 1950 as the Mainichi Orions, an inaugural member of the Pacific League. The Marines won the inaugural Japan Series in 1950.

In 1958, the team was merged with the Daiei Unions and renamed the Daimai Orions. In 1964 they became the Tokyo Orions, and the Lotte Orions in 1969. The franchise was slow to duplicate its initial success: the Orions made the Japan Series in 1960 and 1970, only to lose both years.

The team played in central Tokyo until 1972. From 1973 to 1977 the Lotte Orions played in the northern Japanese city of Sendai. In 1974, they beat the Chunichi Dragons, becoming the first Pacific League team to win the Series in ten years as the Yomiuri Giants had claimed the prior nine titles behind the Oh-Nagashima attack.

In 1978 the team returned to the Tokyo area, settling in Kawasaki.

Finally, in 1992, the team moved to Chiba City on the eastern shore of Tokyo Bay and was renamed the Chiba Lotte Marines.

The team failed to reach the Japan Series again until 2005. The Marines started the 2005 season in first place behind American manager Bobby Valentine, but fell behind the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks as the year progressed. Under the playoff format of the time, the preliminary five-game playoff round, prior to the Japan Series, saw the teams with the best first and second half records face off. The Marines defeated the Hawks three games to two in the Pacific League championship, winning the rubber match despite entering the eight inning trailing 2-1.

The Marines thus qualified for the Japan Series, the first time they had reached the tournament since 1974, a 31-year drought. In a one-sided series, the Marines swept the Hanshin Tigers in four games, scoring ten runs in each of the first three games. The apparent ease with which the Marines defeated the Tigers added fuel to the ongoing debate concerning the need for a playoff system in the Central League, which was finally added in 2007 (see Climax Series). The Marines went on to defeat South Korea's Samsung Lions in the final round of the Konami Cup Championships.

In 2010, the Marines clinched third place on the last day of the season to earn a berth into the Climax Series. They went on to become the first third place team to ever win the Climax Series, and faced off with the Chunichi Dragons in the 2010 Japan Series. The Marines defeated the Dragons in seven games, composed of four wins, two losses, and one tie, winning their second Japan Series in under ten years.

2015 roster

Manager
Pitchers
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders

Notable former players

Retired numbers

None

MLB players

Active: None

Retired:

Honored number

See also

References

  1. ↑ (JAPANESE) ＫＡＴ－ＴＵＮ・亀梨、始球式で西岡と対決, Sankei Sports; retrieved on July 20, 2009.
  2. ↑ (Japanese) Tsuyoshi Nishioka's official blog; entry dated 19 July 2009; retrieved on July 22, 2009.

External links

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